The St. Edward’s University’s women’s basketball team went back-and-forth all game with Lubbock Christian University, but fell short 66-58 on Feb. 22. Despite a strong start from Mikah Chapman and a career night from Ainsley Thunnell, netting 15 points on 7-9 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds, it wasn’t enough to upset the Lady Chaps.
Chapman started the second game of her Hilltopper career, providing instant offense by knocking down two jump shots for four points in the first quarter. Thunell — one of the first Hilltoppers on the court warming up about two hours before tipoff — undertook the defensive assignment of guarding Grace Foster, the Lady Chaps’ Lone Star Conference Co-Preseason Player of the Year and All-American. She carried the Hilltoppers offense early, dropping nine of her 15 points in the opening quarter. The Hilltoppers went on a 6-0 run to end the first quarter with a 19-18 score.
“She was phenomenal,” St. Edward’s Head Coach J.J. Riehl said. “She was relaxed. She was poised. She was convicted. Whenever we needed a big play, Ains stepped up and made it. I was pumped for her and proud of her.”
Both teams were neck and neck in the second quarter, with the Hilltoppers going to the locker room with a 34-33 lead at halftime. Thunell limited Foster to only eight points on 3-6 shooting in the first half.
Lady Chaps came into the game as one of the premier 3-point shooting teams in the nation and had four players with multiple threes, outscoring St. Edward’s 12-0 in the third quarter.
LCU went to the fourth quarter ahead 51-47 and opened up on a 5-0 run to go up by nine and would cruise to an eight point victory.
The loss eliminated St. Edward’s from Lone Star Conference tournament contention. The Hilltoppers fell to 8-17 with a 5-14 conference record. St. Edward’s will go on the road on Feb. 27 to face St. Mary’s University.
